"The gipsy boy?" said Mary.
"Yes, he gave me a wire. See, it's round its neck. That's how I caught him. Do kill him, Kink!"
"Please don't do anything of the kind," said Janet. "We don't want to eat rabbits we catch like that."
"No," said Hester, "please don't kill it. Please let it go."
"What mollycoddles you are!" said Jack. "How do you suppose rabbits are killed, anyway? You eat them all right when they're cooked."
"I couldn't eat a rabbit that I had seen struggling alive," said Janet.
"No," said Mary. "Oh, Jack, please let him go! You've caught him, and that's the great thing; and now be merciful."
Kink still held the struggling creature.
"I vote he's let loose again," said Robert. "I don't want any of him."
"No, and I'm sure I don't," said Gregory; "but wouldn't it be fun to keep him in a hutch?"